Batting A Thousand
by rhymenocerous
Summary: "If it wasn't for you and all your so-called pointless trivia, we may never have made the connection between Tessa's story and what happened at the Vonner Club." A 7x16 Post-Ep Fic. Danny and Lindsay - with mentions of Lucy! - and Mac.


**A/N: So… I'm not usually one for writing post-ep stories. In fact, I don't think I've ever done one, unless you count Pot of Gold Redux (which I don't, seeing as it was more of an alternative-ep fic. But that's beside the point). So, what are we doing here? Well, I'll tell you.**

**I always get an idea after watching an episode to do a post-ep but I always end up bailing because it's just a hazy blur of ideas and nothing actually solidifies and translates from my head to my computer. But this one was different. I went to bed after watching (and yes… re-watching!) the episode only to have my mind in a whirl, full of ideas that were just begging to be written. So when I got up this morning I sat down and started to write and this is what I've come up with. I would have posted earlier but my stupid internet crapped out for a few hours and I had to patiently wait for the nice man (with the very cute butt, I must say!) to come and fix it. A word of warning? I might be breaking my internet a lot more from now on ;)**

**There are others out there who do a fab job of gracing us regularly with post-ep fics, and I figured now was as good a time as any to add my voice to the mix. Anyway, enough from me.**

**Enjoy!**

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"You almost done, babe?"

Danny nodded his head absently at Lindsay's question, continuing to type out his report, his gaze flicking back and forth between his hand-written notes and the computer monitor in front of him.

"Yeah… just gimme a few more minutes," he replied.

He heard Lindsay boot down her own computer and push in her chair, tidying her workspace before she rounded their desks to stand behind him. She placed her hands on his shoulders and began to gently work out the knots at the base of his neck while she waited.

"Mmm… if you're trying to get me to hurry up you're going about it the wrong way," Danny informed her, groaning as her fingers hit upon a particularly sensitive spot. "Ow."

"God, your back is really tight, Dan," Lindsay said, being careful not to press too hard as she continued to ply gently at his muscles. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. I must have slept funny last night," he said. "And it didn't help being hunched over scanning all those pictures for hours and hours today."

"My poor baby," Lindsay murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "When we get home and get Lucy to bed, you want me to do your back like I used to after you were done physio?"

"You don't gotta do that, Linds," Danny sighed, turning his attention back to his report. "You worked just as hard as I did today. I'll be fine."

Lindsay was about to tell him that she didn't mind… in fact, if truth be told, it was something that she really missed doing for him. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. She turned to see Mac standing in the entrance to their office looking tired and careworn.

"Hey guys… not interrupting anything am I?"

"No, of course not!" Lindsay assured him.

He smiled and took a few steps inside the office, sitting down on the edge of Danny's desk. "I just wanted to thank you two for all your hard work on this one," he said. "Everyone really pulled out all the stops to put this case together, and you two were no exception."

"Just doing our jobs, Mac," Danny demurred.

"Yeah, I know," Mac sighed, scrubbing a hand over his tired face. "I know. But this one really hit me hard. I didn't know Tessa well, but I still feel like I should have done more to help her while she was alive."

"We all have cases like that, Mac," Lindsay sympathized, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "There's times when we all play the _shoulda, woulda, coulda_ game with ourselves. But you can't beat yourself up about it. You did everything you could for Tessa at the time… you were a friend to her and listened to her when most other people would have written her off as some kind of crackpot."

"Yeah," Danny agreed, swivelling in his chair so he was facing Mac and picking up where his wife had left off, "And thanks to you we got the guys that killed not only Tessa, but her _woman with the purple feathers_ – our Jane Doe. And at the end of the day, that's what Tessa wanted; someone to hear what she was saying and find the people responsible for killing that woman."

Mac shook his head and let out a weary sigh. "I only wish I'd talked to you guys about Tessa earlier… especially you, Danny."

"Me?" Danny raised his eyebrows. "Why me?"

"Those names… the aliases she gave to the men that attacked Jane Doe… you didn't even bat an eyelash. You knew exactly who they were. I figured she just made them up, but you… you realized right away that she was talking about the 1919 Chicago Black Sox team." Mac shook his head sadly. "I'm from Chicago. I should have known…"

"Don't do that to yourself, Mac," Danny warned. "Believe me, torturing yourself with what might have been ain't gonna do you any good. Besides, being a baseball-obsessed loser who can rattle pointless trivia and statistics off the top of his head ain't all it's cracked up to be." He leaned forward in his chair and gave Mac a conspiratorial wink. "Apparently the ladies -" he nodded his head in Lindsay's direction, "- don't find it all that interesting. In fact, I get the distinct impression that they think it's kinda boring."

That earned him a chuckle from Mac. "Well, whether the ladies appreciate it or not, I certainly do," he said, clapping Danny on the shoulder. "If it wasn't for you and all your so-called pointless trivia, we may never have made the connection between Tessa's story and what happened at the Vonner Club."

"I'm sure we would have gotten there eventually, Mac," Danny said with a self-deprecating shrug before he swivelled his chair back toward his computer to resume his forgotten report. "But my mother will be pleased to hear that my childhood wasn't completely wasted, and that all those afternoons spent locked in my bedroom with my baseball magazines were finally put to good use."

"Well," Mac said, getting to his feet. "I think I'm gonna head home and try to relax." He smiled at Lindsay, then at Danny who had turned to look up at him. "I'll see you two tomorrow."

As Mac turned to leave the office, Danny looked up at his wife, his eyes silently asking the question she had been about to verbalize herself. She gave him a small smile and nodded her head.

"Um… hey, Mac?"

Mac paused in the doorway, turning back toward the pair of them. "Yes, Danny?"

"Uh… you wanna come back to our place for dinner?" he asked. "Maybe spend a little quality time with your goddaughter?" A genuine smile spread across Mac's face at the invitation, and Danny plowed on. "I mean, we're not having anything special… but I think we both can attest to the fact that Lucy's the best at making you feel better after a particularly shitty day."

Mac's features softened at the mention of Lucy and he nodded his head. "I'd really like that. Thank you."

"Ah, forget about it," Danny grinned, waiving off Mac's gratitude. "Besides, my motives aren't purely altruistic; it's been a while since you been over, and Lucy's dying to see you. She's been buggin' us for weeks."

"Well, then I'd better stop shirking my godfatherly duties," Mac replied with a smile. "I'm just gonna go clean up the files in my office. Come get me when you're ready to go."

"Will do, Mac," Lindsay replied, watching as he rounded the doorway and walked off down the hall, his step decidedly less dejected than it had been when he'd entered their office a few moments earlier. She pressed another kiss to the crown of Danny's head, wrapping her arms around his neck and bending to gently nuzzle her cheek against his. "Feels good doesn't it?" she asked. "Being able to put a smile back on his face like that?"

"Mmm," Danny murmured his agreement. "It really does."

She was quiet for a moment, letting him work on the last few lines of his report. When he was done, she tightened her arms around him ever so slightly. "Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"You don't bore me, you know."

"What's that?" he asked, grabbing his papers and stacking them neatly in a pile before stuffing them into the drawer of his desk.

"With all your baseball stuff… do you really think that you bore me?"

He paused, letting out a quiet sigh. "Don't I?" he asked. She rested her chin on his shoulder as he busied himself with straightening out his workspace, closing the windows on his monitor and hitting the button to log off his computer. "I mean, the way your eyes glaze over and you get that look on your face that says '_Oh, God. Here he goes again_'… it's kinda hard to miss."

"I'm sorry I made you feel that way, baby," she said. "That's not what I intended. I just…"

"Hey, it's alright. Don't worry about it," Danny interrupted, shrugging off her apology. She could hear the slightest hint of melancholy in his voice, despite his attempt to keep his tone light. "I mean it's not like I expect you to share my enthusiasm or anything. You don't have to be interested in everything that interests me. Or that I'm obsessed with, apparently."

"I know I don't. But it's important to you, and that makes it important to me too," Lindsay reasoned. "Besides, if you'd have let me finish instead of interrupting me…" she paused to press a kiss to his cheek, garnering an apologetic murmur from Danny. "What I was going to say was that you don't bore me, Danny. Far from it. You amaze me."

Danny turned his head, raising a sceptical eyebrow. "Whatever," he scoffed. He moved as if to get up from his chair, but Lindsay placed her hands on his shoulders, gently pushing him back down into his seat.

"No. Not 'whatever'," she affirmed, slipping her arms around his neck once again and retaking her former position, her cheek against his. "The fact that you remember all of those things… it's pretty impressive. And the way your face lights up whenever you talk about it…" she smiled as Danny raised a hand and interlaced his fingers with hers, "…it makes me feel special that you want to share that with me." She could see a little smile tugging on the corners of Danny's lips and the apples of his cheeks were flushed with the faintest hint of colour. "You get so excited, it's like you're a little boy again," she continued. "It's adorable, actually."

She laughed when Danny let out a sigh of exasperation and let his head fall back against her shoulder.

"Oh, man. You had to go and ruin it with the A-word, didn't you?" he asked. She smirked back at him and nodded. "I'm not sure which is worse; yesterday you called me gross… today I'm adorable?"

"You're always adorable. Even when you're gross," Lindsay teased, remembering their conversation as they'd analyzed Tessa James's clothes. "Besides, you always had a distinctive flair for grossing me out. I knew that when I married you."

"Hmph," Danny huffed good-humouredly, swivelling his chair around so that he was facing her and pulling her down so she was perched on his lap. "You make me sound like such a catch. Why'd you marry me again?"

"Well, you did manage to knock me up pretty good," Lindsay deadpanned.

"Besides that," Danny growled playfully in her ear.

"Seriously? I married you because you're my best friend and I love you," Lindsay said as she curled her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. Her fingers raked through the hair on the back of his head as she pulled back and grinned at him. "Plus, it doesn't hurt that you can cook and you're a hot damn in bed."

"Ahem."

Lindsay's eyes went wide and she and Danny both looked up to see Mac standing in their office doorway with a bemused expression on his face.

"This time I'm pretty sure I _am_ interrupting something," he remarked with a chuckle as the pair untangled themselves from their embrace and scrambled to their feet, their faces both flushed matching shades of hot pink. "I just came to ask if you wanted me to grab a bottle of wine or something for dinner… but maybe you want to reschedule for another night?"

"Sorry, Mac," Lindsay said, her cheeks burning at Mac's knowing smile. "We were just… I didn't think anybody was… how much did you hear?"

"Don't worry about it, Lindsay," Mac smirked. "I already knew Danny was a good cook."

Danny let out a hoot of laughter, bending at the waist and slapping his hands on his knees as he gasped to catch his breath. Lindsay, although mortified at first, found herself giggling as Mac's words registered with her. She gave him a rueful smile, rolling her eyes as Danny continued to chuckle to himself.

"Tonight's still fine, Mac. Really," she assured him. "I was just waiting for Danny to finish, but we're ready to go whenever you are."

"I'll go get my coat then," Mac said. "You two just carry on… I'll wait for you at the elevators."

Lindsay waited until Mac had disappeared out of sight before she reached over and swatted Danny's backside. He gave her a shit-eating grin and started to laugh again.

"Busted by the boss, Montana," he taunted, his accent thickening just as it always did when he teased her. "Just be grateful it wasn't Adam or – God forbid – Flack that heard you. We'd never hear the end of it. At least Mac will be discrete. Besides, I'm pretty sure he was as embarrassed at catching us as we were at getting caught."

"I doubt that," she replied as Danny wrapped his arms around her and pressed a light kiss to her forehead.

"Come on, babe," he said, "Let's get our stuff and go home. We got a godfather that's itching to see our little girl, and besides… the sooner we get home and get dinner started, the sooner it'll be over and I can take you to bed and show you just what a hot damn I am."

Lindsay smiled and shook her head. "Oh yeah? You plan on hitting a home run tonight?"

"God, you're not playing fair…" Danny groaned. "…using baseball metaphors for sex? Are you trying to kill me?"

"See? I do pay attention," she giggled as she stepped out of his arms and headed for the door, giving him a saucy wink over her shoulder. "I even used it in a sentence and everything."

"You really are the perfect woman."

Lindsay smiled as Danny caught up to her, taking her hand in his and pressing a kiss to the backs of her fingers. "Love you," he said as he led her down the hall toward the locker room.

"I know you do," she replied. They made their way to their lockers, grabbing their things and donning their jackets before they wandered back out into the main foyer where Mac was patiently waiting by the elevators.

"Hey, Mac. You ready to go?" Danny asked, pressing the button to call the elevator.

"Just waiting on you two," he replied, following the couple as they stepped through the open doors. "So, Danny. What are we having?"

"What makes you think I'm cooking?" Danny asked. "Linds is pretty spectacular in the kitchen herself… among her many other talents. Ow!" he winced as Lindsay nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.

"Stop it," she chastised. "You've already gotten me in enough trouble tonight as it is."

"Strike one, huh?" Danny asked cheekily.

"You got it. Now behave yourself Slugger, or you're gonna get yourself benched."

Danny grinned at her before turning to Mac. "You see what I gotta put up with?" he implored. "She's so mean to me."

"Hey, don't drag me into this," Mac said, raising his hands in surrender. "But by the way she's glaring at you, I'd say that's strike two, Danny."

Mac smiled as he listened to the two of them carry on, bickering good-naturedly with one another. This was exactly what he'd needed after the past few days – to be able to turn to his friends when he was feeling particularly low and have them buoy his spirits. No, the case hadn't turned out as he'd expected; finding Tessa's body in the alley had been devastating and he still felt a deep sense of remorse for not being able to do more for the troubled young woman while she had been alive. But the reassurances given to him by the couple currently engaged in a verbal sparring match as they wandered down the crowded Manhattan streets toward their home had done a fine job of making him feel better already. And his spirits were lifted considerably more by the prospect of getting to spend some long overdue time with his beloved goddaughter.

In keeping with the baseball motif that had wound its way throughout the Messer's conversation all the way back to their apartment, if someone had asked Mac how he felt right now in this moment - looking forward to an evening spent with good food and even better company - he would have said he felt like he was batting a thousand.

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*Fidgets nervously while waiting for the verdict***

**So… what did we think? Like I said, I'm not used to writing a story specifically based off of a particular episode, so this is all new for me. I can only hope that you like it and that it does exactly what a post-ep fic is supposed to do – carry on the story for just that little bit longer once the credits have rolled.**

***rhymes***


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